The Soo Greyhounds gave their head coach the fast start he was looking for Thursday.

The Hounds scored just 20 seconds in and led 2-0 following a dominant first period performance, en route to as 3-0 win over the Owen Sound Attack before 4,011 at Essar Centre.

Sheldon Keefe had lamented slow starts that plagued his team in last Saturday's 4-3 win in Saginaw and Tuesday's 5-3 victory in North Bay.

But this turnaround apparently had little to do with anything the coach did or said Thursday.

Instead, Keefe made his feelings crystal clear to his charges during the first intermission Tuesday, with the Soo down 2-0.

“It was a spirited intermission. I let them have it,” Keefe admitted Thursday. “But tonight, we couldn't have asked for a better start than to score on the first shift.”

Indeed.

Kyle Jenkins point shot was stopped by Attack netminder Brandon Hope. But Hounds winger Andrew Fritsch swooped in to bang home the rebound for a quick 1-0 lead.

“We were determined to come out with a better start,” said Fritsch, who finished with a goal and an assist. “We fell behind 2-0 in the last two games and you can't come back like that against good teams.”

Fifteen minutes later, Sergey Tolchinsky found Jared McCann, who had beaten his man as a trailer on the play, and the second-year centre deposited the puck into an open net to make it 2-0.

The Hounds controlled the period, outshooting the Attack 23-7.

“We really changed the way we came out,” said captain Darnell Nurse, whose power-play goal midway through the second frame completed the scoring. “We totally dominated the first period and that fast start set the tone for the game.”

“I thought we deserved more goals in the first period,” added Keefe, whose won its third straight, improving to 14-2-0-2, second overall in the 20-team, Ontario Hockey League.

With 31 points, the Guelph Storm (15-3-1-0) is one point ahead of the Soo, which plays host to Peterborough Saturday night.

And while the home side wasn't as good in the second period, the third period provided another example of what this team can do when at its best.

“I really liked our response in the third,” said Keefe, whose club outshot the visitors 13-7 over the final 20 minutes and 47-26 overall.

“Our third period was amazing,” said Tolchinsky, who could very well have been talking about his own play during the final stanza.

The second-year winger dazzled the crowd on several occasions with his quick moves and deft handling of the puck.

“We had a good finish,” added Tolchinsky. “We completely dominated the third period.”

And that helped veteran Matt Murray post his third shutout of the season. Though he didn't face a lot of shots from in close, Murray made the saves he had to.

“My job was easy,” said the Thunder Bay, Ont., native. “We had the puck most of the game and when we didn't, we played extremely well defensively.”

A lack of discipline cost the Attack, who came in as the most-penalized team in the league.

The Hounds held a 5-on-3 advantage in the middle frame when Fritsch fed Nurse, who rifled a low shot past Hope.

McCann also drew an assist for a two-point night.

Keefe, who said he wasn't comfortable with the lead at any time Thursday, spoke of how the Nurse goal “came at a pivotal moment.”

The Hounds peppered Hope, who made a number of impressive saves throughout the contest.

“If it wasn't for him, it would have been 6-0,” Attack head coach Greg Ireland said of his netminder. “He was a warrior.”

But Ireland, whose team fell to 8-9-1-1, also spoke of how the slow start cost his club.

“That first goal hurt us,” he said. “We've talked about our slow starts on the road and we have to do a better job of weathering the storm.”

Notes: Hounds winger Trent Mallette was forced to leave the game after a collision with Owen Sound's Zach Nastasiuk. Physiotherapist Rich Rotenberg said as a precaution, Mallette, who didn't return, was being treated as if he'd suffered a concussion.